Sanrio has set July 21, 2028 as the theatrical release date for its Hello Kitty feature film, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema. The announcement comes nearly six years after the Japanese company first agreed to license the character to a Hollywood studio in 2019.
The Tokyo-based entertainment firm provided few specifics about the project. Plot details remain undisclosed, and Sanrio described the film only as a “globe-spanning, four-quadrant experience” focused on friendship themes. Director Leo Matsuda and screenwriter Dana Fox are attached to the production.
The licensing deal represents a departure for Sanrio, which has historically maintained tight control over its intellectual property. The company has relied primarily on merchandising for revenue, with Hello Kitty products accounting for roughly 76% of gross profits according to analyst estimates.
Timing may be critical. Sanrio’s sales surged 45% to ¥104.7 billion ($700 million) in the nine months through December 2024, driven largely by the character’s 50th anniversary celebrations. The question now is whether momentum can be sustained through 2028, when anniversaries for other characters like My Melody and Kuromi will have passed.
Producer Beau Flynn spent nearly a decade persuading Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji to approve the project. The company previously lost market share to Disney’s “Frozen” franchise around 2014, raising questions about Hollywood’s capacity to enhance rather than compete with Sanrio’s brand equity.
